DANBURY -- Abbott Tech senior quarterback Greg Ramos was writhing one snap into the Wolverines' season-opener against Wilcox Tech Saturday, his knee slamming the turf after a 10-yard run.

Lined up to defend an extra-point attempt early in the second quarter, Ramos flew around the left edge and swooped in to absorb the kick in his midsection. Curled up and winded, he mustered a meager fist pump as he collected his breath.

That's the thing about wins and the plays that lead to them: They block out the pain. Particularly when the loss column is on empty.

"It feels great," said Ramos, whose two second-half touchdown runs broke open a 34-12 victory at John Perry Field that put the Wolverines at 1-0 for the first time in the program's four-year history. "We've worked hard my four years and we're going to keep working all season and keep winning."

The winning formula -- a version of which the Wolverines used to dominate the same opponent in last year's finale -- doesn't need a whole lot of tweaking. The Wolverines forced six takeaways on defense and leaned on their rugged offensive line to grind out clock-killing scoring drives. Senior running back Dave Cartisano, who ran the ball 16 times for 120 yards and the Wolverines' three other touchdowns, was the main beneficiary of a lop-sided battle in the trenches.

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"That's what we want to do -- we want to control the football," said Wolverines coach Chris Mascolo. "We don't have a lot of guys, so if we can control the football against a team like that, that wants to run no-huddle, we can take up the clock running the ball behind a big O-line. That's going to be key for us."

Abbott Tech raced out to a 14-0 lead, finishing their opening drive a play after Ramos' injury on a 41-yard scoring burst from Cartisano and later turning a fumbled Wilcox Tech snap into seven more points on Cartisano's second score.

The Indians scored on consecutive second-quarter drives to pull to within 14-12 at halftime but were unable to hold onto the ball the few times they possessed it in the second. Abbott Tech's Delton Rogers forced a fumble with a crushing hit on the second half's opening kickoff to set a tone for the remainder of the contest.

"They were trying to make the game short and we were trying to make the game longer, but the reality of the situation is you can't win games with six turnovers," said Wilcox Tech coach Trevor Jones. "Their front did a nice job on our front."

Early in the fourth quarter, Abbott Tech senior captain JoJo Espinal delivered the final demoralizing shift in momentum. Espinal, who's listed at 5-foot-5 and 130 pounds, gathered an inside handoff on 4th and 15 and refused to stop pumping his legs until after he had the first down, even as a growing swarm of tacklers clung to his back.

"JoJo's a big-time leader for us and that was a huge momentum builder," Mascolo said.

Ramos scored from eight yards out on the ensuing play to put the Wolverines up 27-12, effectively squashing the Indians' comeback hopes.